Angry that none of the Leave leaders have a clue what to do now – “We don’t have a plan for dealing with Brexit, Number 10 should have done that” – no, you were advocating we leave, it is incumbent upon you to present a plan for what we do upon leaving;

Angry that social media is filling up with holier-than-thou bleatings saying “If I read of another person saying they are sad about what happened, I’ll scream” – people are absolutely allowed to be sad over something about which they feel deeply passionate, and such depth of feeling shows a deep passion and sense of importance about the situation – that you find it a trivial situation says more about your flippancy than about those who deeply care on either side;

Angry that smug individuals are complaining that “Oh, suddenly everyone is interested in politics” – just what exactly is wrong about more people being interested in politics?! Their interest is a Good Thing;

Angry that the most popular UK teaches on Google were “What is the EU” and “What does leaving the EU mean” – the day AFTER the referendum;

Angry that so many idiots (and that is the only word for them) voted leave but said “Oh, I didn’t think we’d actually leave, I wish I’d voted to Remain“;

Angry at the hypocritical areas of the country who voted leave and then demanded guarantees that they would not lose the EU finding upon which they have been relying for decades – sorry, that’s not how it works. You voted to leave, you lose the EU funding;

Angry that our country is being torn apart all because of a wholly needless referendum.

Yes, I am angry as hell, and I’m not going to take it. I’m not going to Keep Calm and Carry On. I’m not going to sit back and accept the destruction of our nation and our society.

There is one thing above all about which I am especially angry.
Really, blood-boilingly, feather-spittingly angry.

Racism

“A vote for Leave is not a vote for racism“, we are told. And yes, that’s true.

“Not all Leavers are racists“, they complain. Again, that is true. Just as not all Muslims are terrorists, not all immigrants are scroungers…

However, what is absolutely certain is that whilst only a monitory of Leave voters are racist, the racists have taken the Leave result to mean that the majority of the country agrees with their vile position.

In the 36 hours since the results were finalised, there was an increase of over 500% in racist attacks within the UK. These are a small subset of examples. Please read them. Go ahead, read them right now – they’ll open in a new window, and I’ll wait here for you.

There are, sadly, countless other examples of this sort of vile racism (and worse) right across social media and the traditional media. 500% increase in such occurrences within 36 hours of the referendum result.

This Is NOT Acceptable.

This is the direct result of a minority of vile, nasty, bigoted racists and xenophobes assuming that the 51.8% who voted Leave support their position. Hardly surprising given the racist campaigning from certain sectors of the Leave campaigns (I’m looking at you, Farage, for one).

Yes, yes, I know – “But not all Leave voters are racist”. So it’s time to prove it.

This sort of racism is not acceptable in the UK, ever. I will not stand by and allow my fellow humans to feel unwelcome, unwanted, unsafe because of a minority of ignorant, dangerous and vile thugs. It is incumbent upon all of us – Remain, Leave and Undecided alike, to stand up and say No More. It is time for all of us to fight this surge of racism. To let the racists know that they do not speak in our name. And to let those being attacked that we are right beside them.

We must all, Remain and Leave alike, absolutely and utterly condemn any racism we seem.

We must all stand up for and stand by anyone who is threatened or who feels threatened.

Failure to do so is nothing less than admitting that you do support the vile racist behaviour which our nation is sadly experiencing.

If you see someone being attacked, threatened or made to feel uncomfortable or afraid, and it is safe for you to do so, step up; defend and protect them; let them know they are not in the wrong. If none of that is safe, take whatever details you can and call the Police.

Reach out to your friends, neighbours, colleagues and strangers. Let them know they are most definitely welcome in the UK. Let them know that the racists are nothing but a tiny minority and they do not speak for the majority. Be there for them.

If friends or colleagues start making racist comments, challenge them on them.

If you do nothing, you are complicity in the massive increase in racism in our country, and you are complicit in making millions of innocent people feel unsafe and unwanted – and in that case, frankly, I want absolutely nothing to do with you. Ever.

Author: Keith Blakemore-Noble

Keith spent the first 4 decades of his life being incredibly shy, too scared to talk with strangers and finding it difficult to make friends and business contacts as a result. Developing his own custom blend of cutting-edge neuro-sciences to conquer his shyness and develop his confidence, he uses those same tools to help performers to transform their deepest fears into their greatest strengths. He has published 3 books, spoken on stages around the world, and helped countless people conquer their fears and reclaim their confidence.